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6 Dreamcast Games That Would Perfectly Suit Nintendo Switch

Earlier in 2017 we pulled off a fairly ridiculous April Fools prank that garnered far more attention than we ever intended, or expected. Remember the whole 'DreamStream' thing? It got picked up by a fair few groups on social media and it fooled more people than I'm comfortable admitting, but that's probably just down to my amazing skills of internet tomfoolery. As awesome as it would be to stream Dreamcast games onto a Switch via an internet connection, the very premise is as daft as a brush - that is, why wouldn't Sega just release the games as downloadable ports, as opposed to stream them and require the user to have a WiFi connection? Tsk!

Anyway, this got me thinking. After Damon's rather excellent recent post about Splatoon 2 being the Dreamcast game we never knew we wanted; and after recently purchasing a Switch myself, I started to think about the other jewels in the Dreamcast's library that would make great additions to the Switch's steadily growing software suite. Sega has been a strong supporter of Nintendo hardware ever since the Gamecube and there's been a big enough length of time since the Dreamcast graced us with its presence that there are bound to be millions of Switch owners who have never played many of the system's greatest titles. Surely, with the almost mythical status the Dreamcast has garnered over the past few years, it would be a license to print money for Sega to release - either as budget downloadable games; or as a 'best of' multi-pack - a selection of the finest software ever to grace the little white box of tricks?

With this in mind, here are my picks for the best first party Sega games that would fit right in on the Switch. Please bear in mind that this is just first party stuff, so unfortunately it doesn't include a Switch port of the amazing Spirit of Speed 1937 - a game that was clearly passed down from heaven by the hand of God him/herself (delete as applicable). They'd mostly have to be re-worked with an aspect ratio more in keeping with the Switch screen too, but this is all just wishful thinking in the first place so don't go all keyboard warrior on us. Anyway, here we go...

Jet Set Radio
Obviously. As with Damon's aforementioned article and umpteen others around the internets at the moment, JSR is a no-brainer for conversion to the Switch. The bright, cartoonish visuals and the overtly inoffensive gameplay are Nintendo all over. As we saw in another recent article here at the Junkyard, Jet Set Radio did find its way onto the Gameboy Advance (and also the PS Vita) so there's no reason why it couldn't end up on the Switch.

That said, with the increased technical grunt of the Switch it would probably make more sense to either go with Jet Set Radio Future or include both titles as a double pack. Either way, it doesn't need the brains of a genius to see that JSR is perfect fodder for Nintendo's hybrid.

Outtrigger
An online multiplayer shooter that shipped in PAL regions with no online play. However, were Outtrigger remastered for Switch, online multiplayer would undoubtedly be a standard feature, and all of us Dreamcast owners in Europe and Australia (and indeed anyone, anywhere, anytime) would finally get the chance to fire rockets and missiles at each other in the name of good, wholesome family fun.

The best bit about an Outtrigger port to the Switch would probably be the addition of twin stick controls, which is something the Dreamcast couldn't accommodate due to the lack of a right analogue stick. Yes, there was Twin Stick and mouse and keyboard support but to be able to play it with 'proper' first person shooter controls on a Switch would be epic beyond measure.

Sonic Shuffle
I know what you're thinking. And I know that the inclusion of this title and the subsequent comments will show whether or not people actually read this guff before commenting...but hear me out. Sonic Shuffle is not a game fondly remembered, but the main crux of this less than favourable image is that the game is a bit dull. But it wouldn't have to be that way if online multiplayer were thrown into the mix as a standard feature. Plus, there's the whole local multiplayer thing too...and Sonic Shuffle is definitely a game to be played with company.

The visuals are actually pretty great, and party games always go down well on Nintendo platforms - just look at the Mario Party series, for example. Now, I'm not comparing Sonic's attempt at a party game to Mario's series, but with a bit of spit and polish Sonic Shuffle could easily be a worthy addition to the Switch library - especially riding on the back of the recent renaissance in the form of Sonic Mania. Hell, if stuff like Vroom in the Night Sky can get released, even Sonic Shuffle deserves a shot at vindication...right? Anyone?!

Daytona USA 2001
Now we're talking. Daytona USA 2001 is one of the finest and under appreciated games on the Dreamcast, not least because most people wanted Daytona USA 2 and not the 're-master' of the first couple of games that was actually served up. Still, Daytona USA 2001 is a racer that fully embraced the meaning of arcade thrills and packaged them up with outstanding visuals and vehicle handling that is easy to pick up, but difficult to master (the key is drifting...but then, you knew that didn't you).

The Switch is yet to receive a 'real world' racer at the time of writing and while calling Daytona USA 2001 such is pushing it a little - there are few other games in the Dreamcast's library that embrace UK:Resistance's old 'Blue Skies in Gaming' initiative as well as Daytona 2001 does, but with its sun kissed straightaways and lush, vibrant environments it would perfectly slot in next to Mario Kart 8 et al. Oh, and then there's the little matter of online racing. Imagine a grid of 40 stock cars thundering around 777 Speedway, every single one controlled by a human player...

Alien Front Online
Not just a title PAL Dreamcast owners didn't get to experience online, but one we didn't get - period. Alien Front Online was never released outside of the United States and Japan and so we didn't get the opportunity to pick a side and blast each other with tanks over a dial up connection. How sweet it would be if Sega was to bring the age-old tale of inter-species armoured warfare to the Switch though. One of the main features of Alien Front Online was that it supported voice chat using the Dreamcast mic so if that were to be included in a hypothetical Switch port we'd probably have to put up with that horrendous Splatoon 2 phone/headset/dongle combination, but then I personally never use voice chat in online games so it's a moot (mute?) point.

How successful you could be in Alien Front Online without voice chat, I'm not sure but the fact remains that with the Switch's dual stick controls and double shoulder buttons, controlling either the human or extra terrestrial tanks would be a damn sight easier than in the Dreamcast game. There's potential for huge battles between larger teams of human and alien forces, and of course there'd also be the ability to play single or local multiplayer battles across the offline campaign missions too.

ChuChu Rocket!
Yes, there's a trend developing here. But since I got my Switch I've been playing Mario Kart 8 almost daily and suddenly the appeal of being able to play all of those online Dreamcast games while lying on the couch has grown exponentially. Yes, we can play a lot of these games online on a Dreamcast using the DreamPi method but it means having to be glued to a TV. First world problems and all that jazz. Anyway. ChuChu Rocket! on Switch.

What more can I say? It's great on Dreamcast and it's great on Gameboy Advance. With online multiplayer straight out of the box surely this is a match made in heaven? You don't need voice chat, and you don't need any knowledge of the previous games in order to learn the basic controls and gist of the game in order to jump straight in and start sending those mice into orbit/to cat-related certain death, depending on your prefurred strategy (sorry).

So, what do you think? Any other Dreamcast games - first or third party - that you'd like to see on the Switch? Crazy Taxi? Virtual On? Virtua Tennis? Space Channel 5? Sonic Adventure, even? Or perhaps you think that no Dreamcast game is worthy of a Switch port?

Either way, I'm guessing there'll be outrage because I haven't included Shenmue in the list above, but that whole drum has been banged to death by now. It's going to come to current gen systems sooner or later so lets just leave it be and give some other games a crack of the whip for a change. With that said, be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments, in our Facebook group or on Twitter.

5 comments:

Not really a fan of the switch myself, but as someone mentioned in an article here awhile back, the switch is perfect for DC ports in general. Local multiplayer and simple graphics are perfect for the switch...